disparate
See also: dispárate
English
WOTD – 2 July 2006
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French desparat, from Latin disparātus, past participle of disparō (“to divide”), from dis- (“apart”) + parō (“to make equal”), from par (“equal”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹət/, /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹɪt/[1]
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹət/, /dɪˈspæɹət/, /dɪˈspɛɹət/[2]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: (US) -æɹət, (US) -ɛɹət
Adjective
disparate (comparative more disparate, superlative most disparate)
- Composed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous.
- The board of the company was decidedly disparate, with no two members from the same social or economic background.
- 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 269:
- The London Transport Museum was established, from disparate collections, at Covent Garden in 1980.
- 2023 February 8, Tony Streeter, “Kirkdale: home to Merseyrail's new '777s'”, in RAIL, number 976, page 36:
- Although third-rail operation in the region dates back more than a century, it was in the 1970s that tunnels under Liverpool's city centre opened to bring together previously disparate routes.
- Essentially different; of different species, unlike but not opposed in pairs
- Utterly unlike; incapable of being compared; having no common ground.
- 1898, John Wesley Powell, Truth and Error:
- Then disparate sense impressions come to disparate organs, as light to the eye, taste to the mouth, etc.
- 1912, Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Bergson:
- M. Bergson’s philosophy, unlike most of the systems of the past, is dualistic: the world, for him, is divided into two disparate portions, on the one hand life, on the other matter, or rather that inert something which the intellect views as matter.
-
Synonyms
- (composed of distinct elements): incongruous, mismatched, uncoordinated
- (markedly different): different, dissimilar, unalike
- (incapable of being compared): incommensurable
Related terms
- dispair
- disparately
- disparateness
- disparity
Translations
composed of inherently different elements
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References
- Longman Exams Dictionary
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Further reading
- disparate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- disparate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Noun
disparate (plural disparates)
- (chiefly in the plural) Any of a group of unequal or dissimilar things.
Anagrams
- aspirated
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin disparātus, past participle of to divide, from dis- (“apart”) + to make equal, from par (“equal”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dis.pa.ʁat/
Audio (Switzerland) (file)
Adjective
disparate (plural disparates)
- disparate; incongruous
Further reading
- “disparate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Adjective
disparate
- inflection of disparat:
- strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative/accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine/neuter singular
Italian
Adjective
disparate
- feminine plural of disparato
Anagrams
- derapasti, disperata
Latin
Verb
disparāte
- second-person plural present active imperative of disparō
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /d͡ʒis.paˈɾa.t͡ʃi/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /d͡ʒiʃ.paˈɾa.t͡ʃi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /d͡ʒis.paˈɾa.te/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /diʃ.pɐˈɾa.t(ɨ)/
Etymology 1
Deverbal from disparatar or borrowed from Spanish disparate.
Noun
disparate m (plural disparates)
- nonsense (meaningless words or actions)
- Synonyms: asneira, dislate
- Você fala um disparate, meu amigo.
- You speak nonsense, my friend.
- a great amount; a lot
- O povo recebia um disparate de turistas no verão.
- The town was deluged with tourists in summer.
- (literally, “The town received a great amount of tourists in the summer.”)
Verb
disparate
- inflection of disparatar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative
Spanish
FWOTD – 22 January 2019
Etymology
From disparatar.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dispaˈɾate/ [d̪is.paˈɾa.t̪e]
- Rhymes: -ate
- Syllabification: dis‧pa‧ra‧te
Noun
disparate m (plural disparates)
- nonsense (meaningless words or actions)
- (Can we date this quote?)Don Quijote:
- — […] Y no me amaño a dejarle, por más disparates que haga.
- and I can't leave him, no matter how many mistakes he makes.
- 2010, Alberto Lema, Iris Cochón, transl., Sidecar, Caballo de Troya (Random House):
- — […] Y todo ese disparate sobre la supuesta infinitud de las personas; cuanto más sabes más quieres saber, más sabes que no sabes, etc.; es una estupidez.
- And all that hogwash about the supposed infinity of people; the more you know the more you want to know, the more you know that you don't know, etc.; it's all silliness.
- Synonym: dislate
-
- a great amount; a lot
- crazy idea
Verb
disparate
- second-person singular voseo imperative of disparar combined with te
- inflection of disparatar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “disparate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014